The History of April Fools Day

Isn’t it amazing? People all around the world dedicate one specific day of the year just for fun, laughter, and silly pranks. But where did it all come from? What is the history of April Fools Day? 

If you’re curious, you probably know that kids are even more so than you! Sharing the story of April Fools Day is a great way to make them even more aware about history and human culture without them even being aware of it! And, that’s not all! The topic is surrounded by mystery because there’s no clear answer as to where the concept of April Fools Day came from. Is it possible that the entire concept of April Fools’ Day is just a prank? According to some theories, it might be! 

Whatever the true story is, going back through history, you’ll be amazed by some of the most incredible events related to this April Fools Day. So, without further ado, let’s unravel the mystery! 

What is April Fools Day?

April Fools Day is a day when people all around the world engage in silly practical jokes with their friends and family. It’s a lighthearted holiday, its purpose being to remind people to laugh, not to take life too seriously, and have fun! 

It’s celebrated annually on the 1st of April, although it’s not a national holiday. This means that even though it’s not recognized by the state as an official holiday, people all around the world keep the tradition alive – just because they love to have fun! We believe this tells a lot about human nature and our desire to connect and interact with people in a goofy way, as evidence of how much kids love this holiday, too. They also pick up the gist behind April Fools Day fairly early in development, even though deceit is an abstract concept. 

When is April Fools Day?

Unlike some other major holidays, April Fools Day at least seems incredibly consistent throughout history. The few historical references that we know of where this holiday is mentioned are always associated with the 1st of April. For more details about the historical traditions and other fun facts, please check out our April Fools Day facts and worksheet pack. 

One example is the comical poetry line from 1561 attributed to an unknown Flemish poet in which he speaks about a nobleman sending his servant on foolish errands various times on the 1st of April.

Also, in 1686, biographer John Aubrey wrote about the 1st of April as “Fools holy day” and described it in length, similar to the way we know and love April Fools Day today. That being said, the theme of the pranks in the 1600s in Britain was focused on sending countrymen to do some ludicrous errands. From there on, it’s pretty much a straightforward, yet incredibly funny history of spreading April Fools Day around the world. But, wait…How did it all start?

Different Theories About April Fools Day

While nobody knows when and where April Fools Day begins, several theories exist and each of them is just as ridiculous as the next one. Maybe that’s the reason why historians have such a hard time believing that something so trivial can persist so consistently and then emerge into a worldwide tradition! 

A Roman Tradition (Hilaria)

Some historians believe that April Fools Day originates from the Roman festival known as Hilaria (that’s Latin for joyful), observed in ancient Rome at the end of March. It is said that followers of the cult of Cybele celebrated this holiday by disguising themselves with masks and ridiculing other citizens. 

Changing The Calendars 

Another more widely accepted theory is that April Fools Day began when France switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. One major difference between these two calendars is the New Year’s date. In the Julian calendar, New Year coincides with the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere.  In the Gregorian, New Year’s is on the day that we all know it today – the 1st of January. So, when this change happened for the first time in France, some people did not get the news on time, or they forgot, and they celebrated again in April. A lot, if not half of the population got the date wrong and the other citizens began mocking the ones who mistook the dates. They were called April fools and were the butt of many jokes as well as pranks with dead fish (meaning they were easily hooked – gullible individuals).

The Day That Mother Nature Fooled Us (Vernal Equinox)

The spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere falls on 20 or 21st of March and signals the beginning of Spring. According to some, the change in weather around this period is related to April Fools Day. It is said that Mother Nature fooled everyone with unpredictable weather and sudden changes. As weird and silly as this sounds, in some countries on the Balkans in  Southeastern Europe March is known as the lying month (Croatian: ‘ožujak’). It may be possible that this later turned into a day of pranks and lying as a way of celebrating the ending of the lying month. 

The British Tradition That Popularized April Fools Day

Each of the theories described above is a plausible answer to the question about the origins of April Fools Day. We can’t know for sure, since the earliest documented celebrations of April Fools Day was in the late 1600s and early 1700s in Britain. In this period in Scotland, there was also a two-day tradition of sending people on ridiculous errands. These errands were known as gowk – a symbol from fools, hence Fools’ errands. In later years, this tradition morphed into Tailie Day where people played silly practical jokes on each other. 

One of the first, defining events in history of April Fools Day was the “washing of the lions.” On April 1st in 1698, hundreds of people were tricked in going to the Tower of London to watch the “washing of the lions,” a tradition that did not exist. The trick was so big that the next morning the local newspaper had to write a piece explaining that it was all a lie and mocked the silly citizens who fell for it. 

What this tells us is that outrageous, large-scale pranks were quite common in the past too. In fact, we’ll share some of the craziest April Fools Day pranks through history in the following paragraph.  

April Fools Day Pranks Through History

Aside from the British hoax with “washing of the lions”, what are some of the other outrageous April Fools Day pranks through history? Let’s see!

1. There’s a story dating back to the 1400s, which may or may not be true. According to the story, a prankster-loving monk trapped a beetle into a swallowed apple and convinced his fellow monks that the apple was possessed. 
2. In 1749 in London, a newspaper published an upcoming event during which a magician would squeeze their body in a wine bottle and sing while inside of it. The interesting part comes from the notion that the whole affair was a result of a bet between the Duke of Portland and the Earl of Chesterfield. The Duke was sure that he could advertise something impossible and insane and yet would still find enough fools to fill the whole playhouse. He won his bet, and on the night of the show, every seat was filled.
3. In 1835, the New York Sun published an article claiming that scientists found life on the moon. While the next day the news was debunked as simply an April Fools Day prank, a lot of articles followed over the next weeks talking about life on the moon. 
4. In 1938, a famous radio broadcaster convinced millions of people who listened to his show that the Earth has been attacked by aliens. His name is Orson Welles, the legendary filmmaker responsible for Citizen Kane. His stunt is known today as the infamous radio drama “War of The Worlds.” There’s a full Wikipedia page for this hoax you can read it if you’re interested – all we’ll say is the police were involved and chaos followed. 

Before You Leave

Even though we don’t know the exact history of April Fools Day, the theories about its origins are just as crazy, if not more than the holiday itself. They make for an engaging story to share with your kids or students. It’s a great way to mark the holiday without actually going to great lengths to pull one on your kids or students – not that you can’t do that anyway. 

Thanks to our April Fools worksheet pack you’ll keep them busy the whole day and still have fun. However, for the pranksters among us, we prepared some fun, family-friendly pranks in a separate article that you can use as inspiration. 
Finally, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter and follow our blog as we have so much more coming up!